


Crossing (辻)

by tsukinotsurugi (forgetfulAmoeba)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Hange spelled as Hanji, M/M, Nonbinary Hange, everything is deliberately vague, meeting over the internet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:27:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26339491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forgetfulAmoeba/pseuds/tsukinotsurugi
Summary: A one-shot of a first time meeting.(Erwin meets Levi in Japan for a meal along with Petra and Hanji. That's it.)
Relationships: Levi/Erwin Smith
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Crossing (辻)

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes with this story. Any gross misrepresentations are completely my fault. Details are intentionally vague but hopefully does not make for too distorted an experience.

Erwin was beyond nervous. It seemed like a wonderful idea when he had made the arrangements, but now, half a world across and moments away from meeting, he was having second thoughts. He anxiously pulled up the app that they communicated through and scanned through the last few messages: the one he sent 10 minutes ago when he realised they'd taken the wrong exit and would not make it at the agreed time and the assurances back that all was well and he was waiting, but that did nothing to calm him down.

He should have asked for a picture beforehand perhaps, it might have been easier knowing what he was facing. But this was hardly a hazardous venture. People met up with people they talked with online all the time now, and a meetup in broad daylight (well, early evening) in a public place with his friend and colleague at his side, with a bunch of (online) friends aware of the fact, it was hardly worth a mention in the greater scheme of things. Still, it felt like he was having a date with destiny or something. He shook his head smiling at himself. He was being too melodramatic. Probably the nerves talking.

Hanji looks up from the map they've pulled up on their phone and scans their surroundings, "yes, I think we've got the right exit this time. I think I see him, them?"

Near the opening of the tunnel was a slim man with a satchel slung across one shoulder casually but smartly dressed all in black: T-shirt under an unbuttoned collared shirt and a pair of fitted jeans, the longish fringe of his sleek black hair framing his oval face with an off-center parting. With him was a slightly more petite companion, the combination of her shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair with pastel cardigan and skirt making a stark contrast. The duo eye them attentively as they approach, giving Erwin a good feeling that this was likely the person, or people he was looking to meet.

"Levi?", he asks, when they come face to face. Or perhaps face to shoulder as the man is much shorter than him, though not as slight as he looked from afar. Although Erwin did tend to tower over most people with his 6 feet 2 inches, he never felt his height so acutely as now.

It doesn't seem to faze the other man either as he looks steadily at Erwin's face. A ghost of a smile lights his face as he nods. "Yes," he replies.

Erwin breathes a sigh of relief. "Pleased to meet you." He sticks his hand out before thinking that he might have committed a faux pas: perhaps he should have bowed instead? But before he can pull back his hand the other grips it in a firm handshake and with a slight nod returns his greeting with a " _yoroshiku onegaishimasu_ ". 

"And I'm Hanji! _Yoroshiku onegaishimasu_!" they cut in brightly.

Not too overenthusiastically for them I hope, groaned Erwin inwardly, hoping Hanji wasn't going to put the other two off as he continued their introductions. "This is the friend I said I'd be bringing who has some Japanese, Hanji Zoe"

Levi looks at his companion who speaks to him rapidly before responding, "Zoe-san," and giving Hanji a nod as well. Gesturing to his companion he continues in a heavy accent, "This is Petora, my friend. She speaks good English." 

"Hello, I'm Petra, pleased to meet you too." Petra gives them a warm smile.

Erwin was glad that they'd both brought an interpreter, and dared hope that this outing might not turn out to be a complete disaster after all. After all, they'd been communicating through translation apps, with both sides desperately hoping that the correct meaning was being conveyed. And although the apps were a great tool, there were times when those hit a snag, producing gibberish, leaving them to flounder, trying to figure out what the other meant to say.

"This is Mister Eluwin Smiss," Levi informs Petra.

Oh.

"Actually it's pronounced 'Ervin', my parents decided to go with the German pronunciation..." he explains apologetically. Again Levi looks to Petra who comes to the rescue with a translation.

"Eh-vin?" Levi frowns a little as he absorbs that piece of information, but then his face clears and he repeats, cocking his head, "Eruvin Smiss?"

It is exotic, yet familiar, but Erwin can't put his finger on when anyone had ever said his name like this before. "Yes," he replies.

" _Jya, ikimashou ka_?" Levi extends his hand in the direction of the streets, and even without an explanation the meaning is clear.

"Yes, let's go," he responds again and they set off.

·~·~·~·

By all accounts this wasn't the actual meeting he had come to Japan for, but when he casually mentioned to Levi that he was going to be on a business trip to the country in a couple of weeks' time, the other messaged back, "Are you coming to Tokyo?" and given the affirmative declared firmly, "we must meet."

And when his schedule was confirmed and it turned out that he would have some free time on the evening of his arrival, Levi suggested a meal together, making arrangements to meet at one of the exits of the station near the hotel he was staying at.

A task that turned out to be harder than he thought on discovering that the station was a veritable maze and a city in itself, with what felt like hundreds of ways in and out of it.

·~·~·~·

Levi leads them a short way down the street and into a narrow lobby of one of the multistorey buildings. A short trip in the elevator brings them to the entrance of a restaurant. An izakaya, a japanese pub, Petra explains, but this looks nothing like pubs as Erwin knows them. He is confused at first when Levi directs them to a bank of lockers where he and Petra proceed to take their shoes off and find empty cubby holes (there is a moment of hilarity when they discover that Erwin's shoes wouldn't fit into a standard one and has to go into one of the extra large ones meant for boots). Servers shout lively greetings and it is only when they are being guided into the bustling restaurant proper that he realises that the place is fitted out with low tables. The anxiety he feels not having yet tested how well he'd take to sitting on the floor is short-lived when he observes Levi moving his legs into a hole underneath the table after he gets into place, while giving a wry glance that indicated he was very much clued in to the situation. Erwin gives him a grateful smile in return.

The menu is mind boggling with page after page of items along with pictures and sometimes english translations for what look like safe bets, although Hanji is practically drooling poring over the more exotic options with excited interjections of "I've always wanted to eat this" and "omigod they have this here". 

"Bee-ru?" Levi asks, miming the action of drinking. It takes Erwin a moment to catch on to what he means.

"Yes, thank you," he responds as Levi orders 4 beers.

·~·~·~·

Erwin never thought he would get sucked into fandom, and that of a japanese animation series at that, but that was exactly what happened. He has Hanji to blame for the introduction with a "I'll watch one of your boring fart series recommendations if you watch one of mine." He was hooked, lined and sunk. He went through the all the subsequent seasons till he was up to date, and then the wikipedia of the series, and then realising that the anime was only highlighting the more exciting parts of the manga, dove into the manga itself. Soon he was ready to trade some of his theories with Hanji, who on hearing them informed him that the wider world was in need of his wisdom indeed, and introduced him to social media on that front. It was a bit of a learning curve but he spent a long time simply ghosting, watching and learning, approaching a few with questions, before he felt he was ready to give his opinion. And when he did, his theories went down a storm, and he was accepted as an authoritative voice in the community at a speed that made his head spin.

And then there was the fan art. The art, overlapping and filling in the spaces that the manga and anime did not reach. Between the funny pieces and mini comics and the amazing larger than life styles Erwin could not get enough of any of it.

And among them was Levi's art. Or more likely, "Levi", as most people operated under a handle. Not to mention that the account and most of the artist's communications were in Japanese, with only a few terse statements in English. He drew a combination of fan art as well as original pieces, both equally stunning.

Technology being what it was these days, it didn't stop Erwin from looking through what Levi said with the help of machine translation. He enjoyed the sometimes acerbic commentary that accompanied his art, and started tentatively making some responses.

At first it started with some comments of "wow this is amazing", and slowly it graduated into more personal declarations of how much he loved particular motifs or how some pieces particularly struck him, supporting the ones that weren't related to the fandom either.

And slowly there appeared an occasional "thank you very much" directed back at him.

After much of this haphazard interchange, Erwin wrote a private message to tell him how he enjoyed his art and Levi politely thanked him for it.

It should have ended there, except that the next picture Levi posted was dedicated to Erwin. Erwin had taken as his username a joke tribute to a distinctive feature of his favourite character, although the connection was very subtle, and Levi had drawn the character smirking with that feature exaggerated and addressed it directly to Erwin along with a comment.

Erwin ran the comment through the translation app.

"When I realized the meaning of woollybear, I laughed too much"

Levi had indeed cracked the code.

·~·~·~·

Hot towels were provided and Erwin follows their example and cleans his hands with it. (He's not too sure that they're any good for cleaning glasses, but for Hanji it'll be an improvement in any case he reckons.) Their hosts tackle the obstacle of what to order by asking Erwin his favourite types of food (he's not too fussy really, raw fish is not a problem but he's not a fan of other types of seafood) plus what japanese food he'd be interested to try. Levi and Petra flip through the pages of their menu, having a bit of a to and fro discussion, before Petra places it on the table in front of Erwin and points to a series of dishes explaining what they are while Erwin nods. Hange takes up the conversation animatedly with Petra when she finishes, discussing some of the dishes that weren't covered, and they look through the items displayed on small stands at the table as well. Levi pushes a button at the table which appears to do the job of bringing a staff member over to take their order. Erwin grows alarmed as Levi and Petra go through the menu with their waiter when he realises that every dish that had been explained to him was being ordered, along with a few more that likely had been decided between Petra and Hange.

He puts a hand out to interrupt the proceedings. "I can't possibly eat all of this," he tries to explain.

"It's to share and the portions are small, so don't worry," Petra smiles. "Just try a bit of each and see what you like."

He still feels nervous though, as it feels like they've ordered too much food for the company present.

The food arrives in what appears to be a haphazard fashion to Erwin, and they've thoughtfully managed to secure him a fork and a spoon so he doesn't have to grapple with the food. 

It is a curious mix of familiar looking and exotic. He's had Japanese food before at home, but the setting makes even the familiar dishes feel unrecognisable. The pieces of fried chicken are absolutely delicious, the savoury meat and vegetable pancake surprisingly good even though he's not a fan of mayonnaise, and they even get him to try an "octopus ball" which, over Hanji's raucous laughter, turns out to be a somewhat crisp ball of dough with a piece of octopus cooked into it and finding it innocuous tasting enough. 

In any case, it doesn't look like he's going to win the award for the messiest eater any time soon. Trust that Hanji would send a bean flying from the pod that they were squeezing, thankfully managing not to hit anyone.

Conversation flows easily, initially focused on the food, and then to general niceties, how Hanji and Erwin have found Japan so far and to general matters of the world at large.

Levi turns out to be relatively quiet and shy in real life. Sometimes he speaks directly, mostly he turns to Petra telling her what he wants to say and lets her communicate his intentions to them. He appears to actually understand well enough what Erwin is saying, although he still waits for Petra's explanation as if to confirm that his understanding is correct. Erwin for his part understands nothing but the words that have entered the English language, none of which are helping him now, and he feels a little embarrassed about it even though the others do not seem to notice his shortcoming.

Hanji is throwing bits of both languages together as they speak, having a ball of a time with Petra who communicates smoothly back in English to them. They make Levi crack a smile now and then. More surprisingly, he starts responding to Hanji directly in Japanese, and hilarity ensues when Hanji mixes their expressions, resulting in something nonsensical sounding that has Petra giggling and Levi struggling to keep his face from scrunching up.

There's something about the whole interaction that gives Erwin a warm feeling of contentment that he'd never realised he's been missing, and has him feeling a little wistful at the same time. It felt like something snapping into place that he did not know was out of joint.

Things get more boisterous as the evening progresses. Incredibly, more food is ordered, Hanji and Petra move on to cocktails, chew-highs? they called them, while Erwin (and Levi, thankfully) stick with beers. They inevitably start talking about the series and fandom matters, with Petra, who turns out to be a complete novice in this area apart from having seen the pictures that Levi draws, getting a crash course on the topic from all sides. It seems that the rifts in people's opinions on the characters and on what on earth is happening in the story transcend country and language barriers. But when Hange starts in on one of the biggest controversies in the fandom, Erwin feels compelled to intervene, steering the conversation to the subject of Levi's art instead. They did not have all night, after all.

·~·~·~·

Erwin continues to compliment Levi's artwork, as well as sending direct messages occasionally. And Levi starts to communicate back.

They start having back and forth conversations, at first expressing their thoughts on the various characters, and then to discussing their views on the events taking place in the chapter releases. Eventually, bits of real life start seeping through, simple things like Levi saying he was feeling sleepy or tired, or Erwin casually mentioning going places in the course of work or leisure, sometimes a blend of the two. They begin exchanging casual snapshots of their lives: Erwin's is a whirlwind of social occasions, while Levi is very much WIPs and meetings and trips to the shops to get more food or supplies.

It becomes apparent that Levi doesn't get out much, both by choice and by design. Freelance work is a bitch and he seems to be a sucker for punishment with the number of projects he takes on. Meeting with clients seems to be the extent of his social interaction, although he also appears to have a few stalwart friends with whom "If I don't go out, they won't leave me alone". Whereas Erwin is constantly networking, especially when his work involves looking out for new projects and expansion opportunities, and sometimes it is a struggle for him to switch off. Which is where _his_ friends come in, helping him wind down with lazy stay at home meal dates, and of course, binge watching the occasional series. Which brought him to where he is now.

And so, it feels like an exceptional honour that Levi would want to take the time out to spend with him over a meal, even if he was the one who came from halfway around the world to be here.

·~·~·~·

Asking Levi about his work brings a light to his eyes. He starts earnestly but stiltedly describing the latest project he is on, pausing only when it looks like he can't find the words he wants to proceed and relaying the rest for Petra to convey to them. He even pulls out pen and paper from his satchel to make some rudimentary sketches. They are the logos and artwork he is designing for an upcoming exhibition at a local museum. The stylised wings are stunning and Erwin has no qualms telling him so.

When he finishes he dips down into his satchel again and pulls out an A4-sized card in a clear plastic sleeve. It is a traditional ink and watercolour drawing of Erwin's favourite character, looking relaxed in a softer moment. Levi passes it over to Erwin, nodding solemnly.

"This is for you. It's a little boring thing."

Erwin's breath is taken away. It is anything but. Taking the picture, he can't stop admiring it. "Thank you so very much," he replies, finding the expression totally inadequate for how he feels about the gift.

Levi pulls out another thick card and asks Hanji who their favourite characters are. Hanji is beside themselves with excitement, squealing as Levi proceeds to sketch out the characters freehand. Luckily the restaurant is noisy and no one seems put out by the sounds that Hanji is making.

It is fascinating to watch Levi bring the figures to life, as if he is pulling them out from another dimension. In a way he is, Erwin mused. The breadth of his talent is apparent as he achieves a complexity of effects with only the pen he has on hand, resulting in a powerfully dynamic composition. Erwin feels blessed to be able to witness the work in progress.

After he finishes and Hanji is clutching the picture to their chest, Erwin lifts the more accurately boring package that he's brought with him to the table and passes it across to Levi with an apologetic "this is for you. I'm sorry but it's not much." He had been at a loss for what get someone whose interests outside of drawing he actually knew little about, and had chosen tea thinking that Japanese people did like tea and hoping that the type itself didn't matter too much, settling on a quality gift set of 3 different varieties. But Levi seems exceptionally touched by the gesture, admiring the caddies reverently. "He likes black tea very much," explains Petra.

Their evening is winding down, even if the izakaya is still bustling. For a first time meeting of relative strangers it had gone wonderfully. They miraculously managed to finish all the food (Hanji gets the credit for that), and are draining the last of their drinks. Erwin hasn't drunk enough alcohol to make him feel more than tipsy but he's definitely buzzed and the strain from the long flights and time difference are starting to catch up on him as he surreptitiously tries to cover a yawn. Levi notices and says to Petra, " _soro soro ka_?" Petra and Hanji seem to take it as some sort of signal that it is time to go as they start gathering their things together and get ready to leave, so he does the same as well.

He expects that they would call a server for the bill but instead, Levi picks up the little clipboard hanging off the side of the table and makes his way to the front.

At the cashier, Levi pulls out a wad of notes from his wallet to pay for their meal. Erwin, catching up with him, card in hand, tries to get a word in that he pays a share of it at least but Levi declines firmly, insisting, "you are a guest. You can pay for me when I go to your place."

They head back down into the labyrinth of the train station, and this time, Levi and Petra walk them all the way to the exit leading to their hotel to make sure they don't get lost. But when they've reached the entrance of the tunnel Levi hesitates, standing about awkwardly before appearing to come to a decision. Reaching into his satchel this time he pulls a small gunmetal coloured case out and takes a business card out from it, holding it out to Erwin with both hands.

"My _meishi_ ," he explains.

Erwin panics for a moment, remembering the etiquette around exchanging business cards that Hanji had drilled into him. He had not brought his own assuming that this was going to be a casual meeting. But Hanji starts rummaging through their bag going, "don't worry, I've got spares somewhere," producing thankfully, a tasteful looking black case from which they extract two cards and hand them over to him, and pulling another two out, their own, he presumes.

They make the exchange, Erwin and Hanji presenting their cards to Petra as well, and with smiles all around he assumes that they have executed the maneuver correctly. Levi studies Erwin's card, impressed and a little awestruck. He is the Chief Business Development Officer of a small but fast growing company, enough for Levi to have caught wind of the name, while Hanji is the Head of Technology.

Erwin looks at the card which Levi has given him. It is, as he expects, beautiful, free surprisingly of any design but printed on an exquisite paper, his name written in a gorgeous calligraphy. The script makes no sense to him but, flipping the card over he sees that it has been printed in English on the other side.

 _Ritsu Akama_  
Levi  
Freelance artist

The name doesn't mean anything to him either, but when he says it out loud he has a strange feeling of a wisp of familiarity, an uncanny sense of another time reaching out, making a connection with this one, but as he tries to reach after it the spell breaks and he blinks.

Levi is looking at him attentively as he wrestles his mind back to the present moment. They've dragged it out as far as they can now and it really is time to make their farewells. Erwin thanks him again for the wonderful evening while Levi waves his hand dismissively, saying that he had a good time too. Hanji is busy exchanging social media details with Petra and they laugh as their first direct messages successfully come through.

They exchange nods all around and Levi tells him warmly, " _mata kondo na_ ".

"You too," Erwin replies instinctively, drawing another ghost of a smile from the other man. Levi looks like he's about to say something more, but in the end gives the littlest shake of his head and smiles again faintly, making another solemn bow and waving as Erwin and Hanji take their leave.

But as he and Hanji start to walk in the direction of their hotel, Erwin thinks that he hears the softest whisper of a " _yakusoku_ ", and although he does not understand it, it makes him shiver.

**Author's Note:**

>  _yoroshiku onegaishimasu_ : pleased to meet you  
>  _Jya, ikimashou ka_? : Shall we go then?  
>  _soro soro ka_? : time (to go) soon?  
>  _meishi_ : business card  
>  _mata kondo na_ : see you next time  
>  _yakusoku_ : promise
> 
> This is a one shot that went completely out of control, I'm sorry.  
>  ~~I wrote this piecemeal over so many fits and starts over such a length of time I'll be amazed if everything parses.~~
> 
> Also, I wanted to finish this up not really knowing what happens in the current chapter but having my suspicions that I wouldn't feel up to it after, so I hope it's not too jarring...


End file.
